Garment hanger



Oct. 23, 1951 s. SUMMER 2,572,534

` GARMENT HANGER Filed June 29, 1949 Ffa. 5

/N Vg/v TOA7 Samue/ 5am/ 77er- Patented Oct. 23, 1951 oFF-rcs 2,572,534 GARMENT HANGER Samuel Summer., AlbanaN ApplicationJune 279371949, S1eria-1jNo. 101,949-

This invention relates toimprovements-ingar` ment hangers made of woodk and of the typel adaptedA to support a pair of"trousersfoldedlover a cross member connected to arms-whichextend outwardly and downwardlyin opposite directions andy over which thecoat is hung. The -undersides ofthe arms are plane surfaces which intersect the cross member at an acute angle, thus-forming with the cross member, at eachend- `of thev latter, an` acute angular spacel therebetween. Since a pair oftrousers, when folded, has. an appreciable thicknessconsistingofA four folds orpliesA of. cloth, the space available for hanging them over the cross member without wrinkling is'limited at eachend of. said member by the-.close proximity of the adjacent arm.

Garment hangers of the general type abovedescribed are well known and in Wide spread use. The conventional type hanger of this kind is frequently limited in width both. forl reasons of economy in construction and to avoid having the lowermost ends ofv the arms-spaced further apart than is necessary toit the shoulders of the coat. For these reasons, such hangers are. commonly` manufactured no wider than 17 'l' betweenV the f lowermost ends of the downwardly-extending arms. The cost of manufacturing increases sharply as the size is increased, andthe chancev of. the longer arms causing distortion to thecoa-t likewise increases.

It has been found that, when a pair of trousers is folded and suspended over the c ross member of the smaller size hangers, particularly that in popular use known as the 17," site, wrinkling occurs along the front and back crease lines of 3 the trousers due to thev fact thaty it. isusual to draw them through the hanger so that the portions thereof depending from the oppositevsides of the cross member will bebalanced in orderyto prevent their slipping from thehanger.rv There is` also the possibilityof the trousers becoming wedged in the angular corners between the cross member and the arms and being damaged when being removed from the hanger. This wrinkling and wedging occurs because the upper parts of the trousers legs which are in contact with the cross member are of greater width than the lower part of the trousers legs, particularly in the socalled slack styles which are very wide in the zones where they fold over the cross member of the hanger. The length of the cross member is, of course, limited by the overall size of the hanger and, in the smaller size, such as the 17", it is insuicient for many trouser sizes which regularly accompany a coat size for which the hanger arms are ample.

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Itis therefore extremelydesirabl'e-not only to have a greater availablelength or width alongVV theupper surface of the crossmember, but also toeliminate the acute angles between the cross member and thearms` at eachA end of said mem.`

ber to reduce or eliminateA the possibility of the edges of the trousers becoming wedged between thecrossl member and. said arms.

I n order to overcome this difculty, theoverall size of theconventional hanger between the ends of the arms has frequently been increased by one or two inches to provide a cross member of greater length. However, there are two definite disadvantages which accompany a hanger of increased size. In therst place, there is a substantial increase'in cost and, in the secondv place, the arms extend outwardly' too` far and cause bulges. to appear in the shoulder ofthe coat.

The principal object of my invention, therefore, is to provide-a garment hanger of the type above described which is of the minimum size required for-the coat and which willsupport trousers in a more securely folded and balanced position on the cross member without wrinkling them along their front and back crease-lines or damaging them by'wedging'in the angular corner spaces between the cross bar and theA arms. A` further object is to accomplish the foregoing at little or no additional cost.

For av fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary portion off one end of such a hanger;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken alongfthe lines 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. A2 showing a slight' modification of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is indicated generally at I0 a conventional type of garment hanger having two arms I I and I2 joined together at their tops in any suitable manner such as by brads I3. Extending through the top of the hanger is a conventional type of hook I4 whereby the hanger can be placed in suspended position.

The arms II and I2 extend outwardly and downwardly in opposite directions and are connected adjacent their bottoms by a cross member I5, the ends of which are merely inserted in cylindrical recesses I6 drilled in the arms for that purpose.

A notch I1 is provided in each of the arms II and I2 just above the cross member` I5. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, this leaves one surface I8 in each arm that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cross member I5. This surface may either be plane as shown in Fig. 1, or a surface of revolution, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The depth of the notch is defined by another surface I9 that is substantially normal or perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cross member I5. However, the upper surface of the notch may be inclined to the axis of the cross member, a shown at 20 in Fig. 4. y

The conventional practice in the manufacture*` of such hangers is to drill each arm II and I2v separately to provide the openings I6 and then join them together with the cross member fitted in the openings I6. I have found that a garment hanger as above described can be formed with slots or notches I'I therein of the typeV shown in Figs. 2 and 3 at no additional cost whatsoever by using a drill with a counter-boring device attached thereto, or by using a special drill having an end portion of a size adapted to drill a hole to receive the cross member I followed by a second portion coaxial with said first portion but of larger diameter to cut the surfaces I8 in each of the arms.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that by means of my invention, I provide a garment hanger of small overall size or width which will perform the function of supporting trousers without wrinkling or wedging them in the corners in a manner which'is just as satisfactory as with a .larger size hanger, without any increase in manufacturing cost and without the accompanying disadvantage of having the arms extend outwardly to such an extent that bulges occur in the shoulders of a coat when placed thereon. The useful length of the upper surface of the cross member is equal to that of any hanger of the same type in the next larger size which is usually 1 wider.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the 'scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein'described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A garment hanger of the type adapted for a coat and trousers; said hanger comprising a pair of outwardly and downwardly extending sides thereof above the portions of said bar adjacent the entrances to said recesses cut out toform, with the top of said bar, open slots extending into said arms; said slots being of a vertical depth or height throughout adapted to receive the edge portions of said trousers when hung over said bar without pinching or wrinkling the same; whereby, the width of the trousershangingspace between said arms is substantially increased without increasing the overall width of said hanger.l 29A garment hanger of the type adapted for aV coat and trousers and comprising, two, separate, outwardlyV and downwardly extending arms formed of wood, substantially straight throughout the lower sides thereof, and adapted, to hold a coat when hung thereover; means securing the upper ends of said arms together; said arms being provided with opposed, substantially.

coaxial, cylindrical recesses therein adjacent their lower ends; and a cylindrical bar of wood adapted to support a pair Yof folded trousers when hung thereover, having its ends disposed in said recesses and supported by said arms; said hanger being characterized by having those portions of said arms on the underside thereof above the portions of said bar adjacent the entrances tol said recesses cut out to form open slots between said arms and the top of said bar of a depth or REFERENCES CTED "Thefollowing references are of record Ain the file of this patent:

l UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,911,703 Marble May 30, 1933 2,355,984 Lupton Aug. 15, 1944 2,387,681 Reed et al Oct. 23, 1945` 

